Beating The Bros: Krewella On Leading The Way For Women In EDM

It's dusk on a mid-July Sunday in Las Vegas and Yasmine and Jahan Yousaf are quiet. Sitting in the backseat of my rental Jeep as I whisk them to the infamous "A Little White Wedding Chapel"--the site of their latest music video--the pair are fresh off a two-hour set at MGM's Wet Republic, which had been preceded by 5,300 miles of flying, a late-night appearance at Belgium's Tomorrowland music festival and a few one-hour power naps.

Yet unlike the hordes of people in Sin City, who at the end of their weekend reach a level of unease that can best be explained by vodka-induced hangovers or craps table debts, the two sisters that make up the dance music act Krewella are strangely at ease. Perhaps, it's because they're about to head home to Los Angeles after a period of relentless touring. Or perhaps, it's because they had received paperwork to settle a lawsuit from a former bandmate after finishing their show.

For the better part of the last year, that $5 million lawsuit from founding member Kris Trindl had weighed on them after triggering a maelstrom of online abuse and judgment of the duo's musical abilities. There was hate mail as well as high profile shaming from the likes of Deadmau5, and sometimes it felt like the only basis for judgment was their sex.

"There was a lot of backlash," said Jahan. "People went immediately into believing everything that they read... People wanted to immediately jump to these conclusions that 'Of course they're women, they use their sex to sell the group. They manipulate men in the industry. They can't be trusted.' And those were the constant themes that we kept seeing."

Yasmine Yousaf (left) and Jahan Yousaf of Krewella performing at Ultra Music Festival in Miami in March. (Photo: John Davisson/Invision/AP)

While the two did not go into detail of the lawsuit settlement during an interview with FORBES, the Yousaf sisters did talk about what it's like to be one of the few women in the male-dominated electronic dance music industry. They said they've never tried to let their sex define them, but that the recent legal matters and subsequent reactions showed them just how much of a stigma there still is in being a woman in entertainment.

"It’s important to recognize that there is still certain stereotypes," said Jahan, 25. "There are so many rumors that go around still--if there’s a woman that’s successful it’s because... she slept with this person or she bought her way into this rather than her just having talent."

That hasn't stopped Krewella, who are among the top-earning female EDM acts in the world and raked in about $8 million in pre-tax earnings in the 12 months since June 1, 2014 based on FORBES estimates. Along with artists like Nervo, the Yousafs are among some of the only women to earn top billing at festivals, though the disparity is still telling. Of the 231 acts at this year's Electric Daisy Carnival festival in Las Vegas, just eight included female members. Moreoever, a female DJ has yet to crack FORBES' ranking of the world's top-earning DJs where the cutoff this year was $15 million.

"We need to change the dialogue to make it OK for women to try the same exact things that men are," said Yasmine, 23. "I think in time you'll see an equal amount of women on these lineups."

As for the abuse, it's something the pair has learned to tune out most of the time. They've responded with music (single "Say Goodbye" addressed the lawsuit) and a strong op-ed in Billboard, but brush off most of the negative comments as sheer ignorance.

"When you break it down--what you're really saying--do you actually feel that way, do you actually want to have that effect on the world?" asked Yasmine. "I don't think a lot of these people, if they would take a step back... I don't think they'd actually feel that way."